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Sadly...ebay is the most accessible way to obtain vintage bb cards these days...it's open 24/7...365.25!!!!! Other wise...BST(buy,sell,trade) threads on vintage bb card sites and auctions(the schedule can be found on the old cardboard site.)

Cards can be graded by one of the third party grading services which come in a holder...or can be stored in top loaders or sheets...personal preference.

If you are looking for an alternative to ebay. There are the auction houses. Depending on how much you wanted to spend. Sterling Auctions (monthly auctions) has many lots that start at $10. Most of the others tend to have lots of at least $50 or more. Just remember there is a buyers premium attached to almost all the auction houses ranging from 15% to 20%.

As far as storage, Pete pretty much nailed it. Professional grading or penny sleeve in a top loader. NO screw downs. There also are plastic sheets available if your collection gets to that size.

There are a number of great articles right here on this site in the "Helpful Information for Collectors" section, mostly authored by the guy who runs this forum. He knows his stuff. They're very informative and helpful. Also, if you buy the Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide (I would strongly recommend doing so, as it will help you to keep from over-spending), that contains a lot of helpful information in the front about card conditions, what makes a card valuable, the pros and cons of various ways to buy (including ebay), etc. The 2012 edition (with Nolan Ryan on the cover) just came out not long ago.

I would say a good place to start, if you haven't already decided on how you wanna do so, is to just surf around ebay's baseball card auctions for a few nights; not bidding, just watching, to see what sets or teams or specific players you like. Get a sense for what you wanna spend, what you can afford, etc. I wouldn't just leap into the buying; have a firm idea of what you wanna collect first. Don't end up with what I call starter's regret, where you jump into a certain type of collecting (for instance, a specific year), and then realize you wish you hadn't. If I had it to do over again on '67 Topps, I wouldn't start the set. The other 19 sets I've started or completed, though, I've enjoyed tremendously.

Have you thought about what period of vintage cards you wanna try? Stuff like what's on this site (pre-WWI)? Or 30's/40's? The Topps era ('56-'80)? You probably already realize this, but just so you're aware: What you spend skews upward pretty significantly the further back you go!

At any rate...I've never had a hobby I've derived more pleasure from than this one, so I wish you well and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of collecting as I have. And if you're gonna buy 'raw' (i.e., ungraded), stock up on top loaders, penny sleeves, and boxes! (You can get all that stuff pretty cheap on ebay, as well.)